Happy Amed Rosario Day!!!
MLB.com- For weeks, as fans called time and again for Amed Rosario’s debut, Mets officials patiently waited for the non-waiver Trade Deadline to pass. Only once that happened, the Mets knew, would they have a better sense of their late-season roster. Only once that happened would they feel comfortable promoting Rosario.
Though the Mets did not ultimately trade Asdrubal Cabrera or any other infielder prior to the Monday’s 4 p.m. ET Deadline, they created enough roster versatility to prepare for this day. The Mets’ top-ranked prospect, and second-rated in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Rosario will debut Tuesday in Denver.
“Bringing him up at the first part of August has basically been our plan for six weeks or so,” general manager Sandy Alderson said, “assuming that he continued to play well.” Rosario has done that and more, batting .328 with seven home runs, seven triples, 19 doubles and 19 stolen bases in 94 games at Triple-A Las Vegas. The Mets’ most highly touted position player prospect since David Wright, Rosario will start most days at shortstop, where scouts rate him a potential Gold Glove Award-caliber defender. But the team will give Rosario ample days off as well, knowing he has never before experienced the rigors of a six-month regular season.
While everyone was jerking off to the Dodgers trading for Yu Darvish, the Baseball Maverick quietly announced that the Mets are finally bringing up their big stud prospect Alex Ochoa Alex Escobar Lastings Milledge Fernando Martinez Amed Rosario! Yes I apologize for giving every Mets fan PTSD by even putting those names in the same sentence as Rosario. But it’s just a not-so-subtle reminder that a lot of these prospects end up disappointing or flat out busting. I feel like some Mets fans are actually expecting Rosario to bust. But I say fuck that. Everything we have read about Rosario has been awesome. Hitting, fielding, makeup. The whole 9. And considering the fact that he’s the most touted Mets position player since David Wright (RIP) says a lot because of just how great David was before he mysteriously vanished following the 2015 World Series.
As one of the people that has refused to c***el da saeson, would I have liked to have seen the number 2 prospect in all of baseball come up a little earlier in the season? Of course. But to be fair to Sandy, there was no way you could call up a guy hitting like this:
To replace a guy hitting like this:
Oh wait, that’s exactly what could’ve/should’ve been done during the season. I feel like Amed Rosario would trend on Twitter every time Jose Reyes fucked up on the base paths, which was like every other game. But I’m willing to let bygones be bygones since even Rosario couldn’t have saved the pitching staff from Dr. DL. In fact, it’s probably for the best that that Mets hid Rosario from Ray Ramirez for as long as possible. Same with Dom Smith, who it sounds like will be getting a call up soon.
The Mets’ second-ranked prospect, first baseman Dominic Smith, will stay at Las Vegas for now. But Alderson indicated that Smith should arrive at some point in August. “I think it’s important for guys like Rosario and Smith to get more than just playing time in September,” Alderson said. “I think to really make it meaningful, it needs to be a little bit longer than that.”
Oh fuck yeah. Big Dom Smith just rolls off the tongue. And while he is no given like Rosario, I am just happy we are out of Lucas Duda purgatory where he would mash and then get ice cold or hurt.
And I will admit that yesterday’s trade deadline passed with not nearly as many Mets moves as we all thought or hoped. Like Carrabis blogged about, the Mets did move Addison Reed in a trade to the Red Sox for prospects that basically filled in the spots of the prospects the Mets traded to the Marlins for AJ Ramos, who the Mets acquired to fill in for Addison Reed. They got three pitching prospects that have had varying degrees of success in the minors.
The Mets sent Reed, who will hit free agency this winter, to the Red Sox for three 22-year old right-handed relieving prospects in Jamie Callahan, Gerson Bautista and Stephen Nogosek.
Callahan could be seen in the big leagues this fall and competing for a permanent bullpen job as soon as next season. A converted starter, Callahan’s velocity has jumped since being moved to the bullpen in 2015. He works in the low 90s with a fastball that “has some late life when he gets extension on it,” according to a scout that watched him this year. “His fastball could be a plus pitch for him. He has a nice splitter too.”
Nogosek, the Red Sox sixth-round pick out of Oregon last year, was a closer in college and is expected to rise through the system fast. He projects as a middle-reliever with a fastball that sits in the low to mid 90’s. He has a “sharp, power” slider, according to a scout who watched him this season in High-A ball. “He really doesn’t have much of a third pitch,” the AL scout said. “He’s going to need to work on his changeup as he progresses.”
Bautista, who missed the 2013 season after testing positive for an anabolic steroid, is “raw talent,” according to the scout. He’s “long and lanky” with an odd delivery. “He throws hard, but doesn’t know where it’s going a lot of the time.” He uses a fastball, which has reportedly touched 100 miles per hour, alongside a slider and changeup.
Again, none of us actually know if these prospects or the prospects the Mets traded to the Marlins will pan out. But it’s more arms to throw at the wall and see what sticks.
Now of course there is still a chance that the Mets move the Assman, Grandyman, or Big Bruce Man. But until that happens, the only real sellers move the Mets have made was trading the Duda Rollercoaster to Tampa. So until those three and any other veterans on the block pass through waivers and land on another team, they are still on the Mets. And if memory serves me right we are a 2nd half team.
Yup. And if we still have most of our roster, (hopefully) some of our horses coming back from injury, and a Messiah turning 30 in a couple of weeks, I have an idea what comes next.
LETSSSSS GOOOOOOO!!!!!
Ya Gotta Believe, right? Alright most Mets fans probably don’t. But regardless, Happy Rosario Day. Lets get the young guns ready for next year when the Mets hopefully have a complete team as well as doctors and trainers that know what the fuck they are doing and maybe we can get the KFC’s and Frank The Tank’s of the world to believe in this team again.
Oh yeah and lets get this promotion started ASA fucking P.
The Wilpons will basically be able to print money if The Mooch becomes an attraction at Citi Field. Granted they will probably blow it in another Ponzi scheme. But at least there is a chance they won’t and they will actually spend money for a team that is about to have their young pitchers become much more expensive to keep.